Dan Castellaneta, who is a great improviser in real-life, would be animated during a three-minute episode airing in May.
- Feb 17, 2016
AceShowbiz - "The Simpsons" is going live for the first time in 27 seasons, FOX revealed on Tuesday, February 16. The family's patriarch Homer Simpsons will take the spotlight for three minutes in a May episode to talk about some current events and answer some questions submitted by fans on Twitter.
The show will be live during both the East Coast and West Coast broadcasts but it will consist of different Q&As for each coast. Fans can tweet their questions using hashtag #HomerLive beginning Sunday, May 1 through Wednesday, May 4. Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer, will sit in and be objected to motion capture technology during the 180 seconds airing.
"As far as I know, this is the first time that's been done by any animated show," creator Al Jean said about the improv-themed episode. "And Dan is a great improviser." Jean and the writers would be in the booth/motion-capture facility to offer last minute rewrites. Meanwhile, other characters will pop in and "have stuff to do".
They have three months to make it perfect and have tested the tech with the help of Fox Sports. "It looks great. I'm really confident that people will like it," Jean told The Wrap, adding that he and the producers would find ways to prove that the show was live.
Jean is encouraging people to tweet in such subjects as "events of the day", admitting that Donald Trump would probably be the main theme. "That's probably true. And with Trump, I'm sure he'll do something that day to merit [mentioning]," he said.
Jean said he was inspired to do the live episode, which will air Sunday, May 15 at 8/7c, after watching "Grease Live". Should this prove to be a success, FOX execs Dana Walden and Gary Newman are willing to stretch it to a full half-hour episode in the future.
